Formation of compact aggregates of B-lymphocytes in lung tissue during mycobacterial infection in mice depends on TNF production by these cells and is not an element of the host's immunological protection.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a pivotal role in the early control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium infections by a host. It was previously shown that both phagocyte-derived and T-cell-derived TNF productions are critical for protective immunity against M. tuberculosis, but the role of TNF produced by B-cells remained unclear. By comparing mice with B-cell-specific TNF deletion to littermate control mice, here we show that TNF production by B-lymphocytes is essential for the formation of infection-specific aggregates of B-cells in the lung. It is likely that these compact foci represent a pathogenic feature of inflammatory response rather than an element of protective immunity, since the capacity to form aggregates has no influence on the severity of M. tuberculosis- and M. avium-triggered diseases.

Polycyanoacrylate porous material for bone tissue substitution.

A proof of concept study has been conducted for the design of a porous biodegradable material containing nanocapsules and two actives with independent release-bimodal drug-eluting implants. Completely safe synthetic material free from risk of prion and virus contamination was tested in vivo, and a method for controlling the rate of biodegradation of poly-2-cyanoacrylic polymer was developed. Novel perfluorinated 2-cyanoacrylic esters have been applied for the chemical modification of polyethyl-2-cyanoacrlylate copolymers. Internal imide-cycle formation has been used to retard the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of the 2-cyanoacrylic copolymer main chain.